An arrogant, narcissistic man suddenly finds himself an unwitting recipient of an artificial heart. Whilst residing on the waiting list for a transplant, he soon discovers that the gift of life is one thing that money can’t buy.

SYNOPSIS:

Jack is a forty five year old, likeable, but narcissistic real estate agent who is ruthless in his quest to close every sale. His motto in life is ‘kill or be killed’. He jokes about this mantra being engraved on his tombstone. Jack is competitive, hardworking and financially successful, but - like so many who are self-involved - he is driven by fear. Fear of losing money, status, and control. Jack will do whatever it takes to stay on top.

Katie is a forty two year old single mother with a seventeen year old son, Lennox, who has Cardiomyopathy. Lennox has been battling this serious heart condition since birth, and is finally on the waiting list for a heart transplant. Katie works, part time, as a bookkeeper for a construction company, having once been a successful Actuary for one of the ‘big five’ accounting firms. Lennox has been in and out of hospital his whole life, so Katie decided to sacrifice her promising career in order to care for him. She would do anything for her son.

During an auction for a multi-million dollar listing, Jack has a heart attack, brought on by the flu, and is rushed to hospital. He barely survives the ordeal, and is given an artificial heart (LVAD) to keep him alive temporarily and act as a bridge to a transplant until a donor organ becomes available.

An interesting fact about LVAD patients; they don’t have a pulse.

After years of living the highlife on an inflated disposable income, reality bites hard for Jack who loses his job in the cut-throat real estate industry, and is forced to become accustomed to more humble surroundings. After the surgery, and in need of a carer, he realises that he doesn’t actually have anyone close in his life. Jack is forced to move in with his brother, Simon, and his wife, Vicky, and two children. Jack and Simon have never enjoyed a close relationship. They had a falling out over money after their parent’s death. Simon is kind and forgiving, and Jack has always exploited this for his own gain.

Life on the transplant waiting list is arduous and frustrating. Katie is hopeful that Lennox will not remain on the list for long, however his blood type is rare, which means finding a donor organ will take time. Jack, on the other hand, has the most common blood type, so there will be more hearts available; however this also means more competition for viable organs. For the first time in his life, and much to his chagrin, Jack needs something that money can’t buy.

Every week, at the heart transplant clinic, a very small, close-knit community of would-be transplant recipients and LVAD patients converge for regular check-ups. Jack is in the clinic with Simon, and Katie is there with Lennox and her brother, Brendan - a forty five year old school teacher. Jack and Katie hit it off, and she is invited to Simon’s one night for dinner, along with Brendan and Lennox. After a few wines, Katie, Jack, Brendan, Simon and Vicky have a discussion about donors. Katie brings up the one sobering thought that all patients on the waiting list have to deal with on a daily basis... Someone needs to die, in order for them to live.

Brendan tries to lighten the conversation by asking who would be their ideal donor. Vicky suggests that someone kind, loving, and caring of others would be ideal. Simon agrees, and points out that anyone who becomes a donor clearly has those qualities anyway. Jack and Katie are quiet. Vicky presses Jack for an answer. Jack retorts by asking why it would matter if they were caring or not? Saying that someone has a kind heart is merely a figure of speech. It’s just an organ. He doesn’t care who the heart comes from, as long as it’s healthy. He looks at Katie who has said nothing... then she shocks the room by saying ‘absolutely, give me the heart from an axe murderer - as long as it’s healthy - we’ll put it to good use’.

There is uncomfortable silence before Katie muses that it would be cool if they could choose their own donor. Everyone laughs nervously - except Jack and Katie, who exchange a subtle look of intrigue - then Simon changes the subject.

Weeks turn into months and a blossoming romance has ensued between Jack and Katie. At the same time, they are becoming impatient with the lack of donor hearts, knowing that a perfect donor must match the recipient’s age, size, sex, and blood type. Jack doesn’t handle this situation well, and struggles with negativity and depression as his own fears envelop him. Lennox, on the other hand, is positive and inspirational, and embraces each day as a gift.

While out at dinner, one night, Jack and Katie witness a young man in his late teens become belligerent and violent towards his girlfriend. Jack steps in and the teen turns his attention to Jack, before finally walking off shelling out a torrent of abuse. Katie gets upset and comments that life is ‘not fair’. ‘A horrible person, like that, is walking around with a healthy heart, while a beautiful, kind, and loving person sits at home in desperate need of one’.

Jack quips ‘I wonder what blood type he is’... and the seed is planted.

The couple hatch a plan to give Mother Nature a helping hand. But do they have what it takes to be murderers? Who do they target? And, how do they ensure that the heart can be harvested?

Kill or be killed.

Jack and Katie develop a kind of ‘Robin Hood’ complex by choosing their victims from the fringes of society - individuals who they deem to be ‘bad people’. They obtain a copy of the Sex Offenders List and begin working their way through the names, but as they become hooked on the rush of taking a life, their own ethical thresholds become blurred and their moral high-ground is reset. Like in real estate, Jack loves the thrill of the chase, and likens the kill to closing a sale. Katie is more pragmatic - she will do whatever it takes to save her son.

Jack and Katie stalk and research their victims closely, and secretly obtain blood samples. When they find a match, they kill them in a very precise way so that they are pronounced brain dead, but their bodies are kept alive for the purpose of harvesting organs. The preferred method is to inject a powerful drug into the neck of each victim, rendering them paralysed but conscious, and then they kill them in different ways to ensure it looks like an accident. Drowning, car accident, suicide… The scenarios of each killing are devised to give maximum chance of a successful donor heart being delivered to the hospital. But so far, all the hearts keep going to others on the waiting list.

Kill or be killed.

When a surveilled paedophile is found after an anonymous tip off, face-down in a swimming pool, he is resuscitated by paramedics, but later dies in hospital. Detective Marilyn Davies is asked to investigate, and she discovers a pattern in several accidental deaths in the city - they all have a small puncture mark in the neck. The press learn of this development and dub the perp ‘The Vampire Killer’.

An interesting fact about vampires; they don’t have a pulse.

In the meantime, Jack and Simon start to bond. Simon is selfless in his support and they genuinely connect in a way that neither of them has experienced since childhood. Jack has renewed his faith in family for the first time in many years. He has also forged a strong friendship with Brendan. Joking, one night, Brendan and Jack realise that they are actually the same blood group. Brendan is amused by this, and promises that Jack can have his heart ‘any time he wants, although he’s using it at the moment’.

Jack and Katie’s killing spree is advancing in earnest, however all the harvested organs continue go to other patients on the waiting list. Jack has endured three false alarms whereby he receives the call from the hospital, gets prepped for surgery, only to be told that the heart is going to someone else. Jack has been waiting for nearly a year when Katie gets the call up one night from the hospital, for Lennox, and a successful transplant ensues. Jack is both excited for Katie, and angry that he is still waiting for a heart, especially after helping so many on the list advance to life-saving surgery.

Katie decides that her killing days are over. She urges Jack to do the same. Media reports about the Vampire Killer suggest that police have strong leads in the case, and she is nervous that all of this will be for nothing if they’re both arrested. Jack calls her selfish. They fight, and their relationship comes to an abrupt halt. Jack has to go it alone.

Kill or be killed.

Jack is not as methodical as Katie, and becomes sloppy in his planning and execution, and Marilyn and her team begin to close in. A gut feeling leads her to confront Jack, but something doesn’t add up. She thinks that someone else is involved. Jack is scared, and desperation has replaced his usual cool demeanour. Jack becomes consumed by a lust for living, and convinced that he is running out of time. And, he misses Katie.

Kill or be killed.

Brendan learns of Jack’s secret life, and confronts him. Jack pleads his case with Brendan and tries to convince him that he is really not doing anything wrong. These people are the dregs of society, and he has helped to save many good lives. Jack asks the question ‘would you kill a paedophile if it meant you could live long enough to see your own children grow up, get married, have kids of their own?’. Brendan is disgusted, and screams at Jack to get out of his house.

Jack says nothing about Katie.

Marilyn questions Katie about evidence found at one of the murders, and Katie remains cool and aloof. In the meantime, Brendan tells Katie that Jack is behind the series of murders, and advises they go to the police. Katie pleads with Brendan to let her speak with him first, before he does anything. She then confronts Jack at home and he promises that he will end the killing spree immediately. She says that she will try to convince Brendan not to go to the police, and they kiss. As she leaves, she plants damning evidence in Jack’s house.

Katie and Brendan are not returning Jack’s calls, and he thinks he’s being followed. He is now consumed by fear, and feels like he has been backed into a corner and given no other choice. He sneaks out of his house and goes to Brendan’s home. As Brendan opens the door, Jack stabs him in the neck with a needle. Brendan turns in shock, before slumping to the floor. Jack drags him to the couch. Brendan’s body shows no signs of life, but his eyes tell a different story. Filled with tears, he watches on as Jack removes a pistol from his pocket and begins to arrange him into a position that suggests suicide by gunshot.

Jack begins monologuing, sharing with Brendan his reasons for doing what he’s doing, and assuring him that there won’t be any pain. He then tells Brendan that Katie has been a part of this all along. He places Brendan’s hand around the pistol and raises it to his temple.

Kill or be killed.

A noise. Jack turns around. Katie is there. She is holding a gun. Brendan shuts his eyes, and Jack’s hand starts to shake. In a last-minute rush of empathy, Jack sobs and lowers the gun. As he does, he suddenly grabs at his chest and passes out. Falling to the floor, he accidentally pulls the trigger. Screen goes black.

Jack wakes up in hospital, several days later, dazed and in pain. A doctor tells him that his heart transplant has been successful. Transplant? Jack is confused, and torn with emotion. Happy, on one hand, that he finally has a new heart and, with it, a brand new life to look forward to, but also riled with guilt over the killing of his friend.

Suddenly, Katie walks into the room. Jack looks at her with tears in his eyes. Katie says nothing, and then Brendan walks in, followed by Vicky. Jack asks where Simon is. Vicky tells Jack that Simon was killed in a car accident after receiving a call that Jack had collapsed and was in intensive care. Simon was racing to the hospital to be by Jack’s side.

Jack has Simon’s heart.

Jack cries out and tries to cover his face with his hands, but he is handcuffed to the bed. Marilyn enters the room and informs Jack that he is under arrest for several murders. Jack contemplates this as she leans forward and whispers in his ear. “Congratulations, your brother gave you life. Now it's a judge's turn”.

Jack looks at Brendan, then Katie. He is terrified. She is calm. Eyes lock... Screen goes black.